MANZINI – Eleven hours is what it took to locate an employee who was trapped at Bhunu Mall.
Bhunu Mall is one of the shopping centres in Manzini and is sandwiched by Nkoseluhlaza and Ngwane Streets at the central business district of the tow.
The three storey building was under renovations following that its second floor had caught fire in 2024, destroying the north west wing of the complex.
As a result, renovations have been ongoing and the roofing which collapsed, leading to the destruction of IDENTITY Clothing, had a section of the wall that had just been completed on the second floor.
As this happened, the employee, was one of five inside the shop, at around 5:30pm on Tuesday, when IDENTITYClothing’s concrete roofing collapsed.
However, her four colleagues were able to escape while she remained trapped inside the shop. A team of over 70 personnel ranging from construction workers, police officers and Eswatini National Fire, Rescue and Emergency Services (ENFRES) worked through the night to access where she was trapped.
Blocking their way was a section of the concrete roofing which was almost 30 centimetres thick. It had also been laid on top of heavy construction steel.
Cutting torches, construction plant and other machinery was used to clear the clothing retail shop as efforts to locate her were made.
She was found at about 4:20am and retrieved by ENFRES personnel at around 5am, before being transported to a health facility by the police.
As her body left the Bhunu Mall, some of her colleagues who had been at the scene since Tuesday evening were seen crying uncontrollably while officers from ENFRES administered first aid and also tried to calm them.
Meanwhile, Manzini Police Station Commander Superintendent Zakhele Dlamini said the body of the female employee of Identity Clothing was taken to the hospital.
He said while that was ongoing, the police will continue with their investigations along with other relevant authorities to establish what caused the collapse of the building.
The news article will be undated as more details are gathered.
We miraculously survived – Identity workers
MANZINI – Workers at Identity have recounted how they miraculously survived after the roof and a wall of the shop collapsed while they were preparing to wrap up for the day.
There were six employees at the shop, including a security guard, when the incident occurred.
The workers said it was between 4pm and 5pm when they suddenly heard a loud bang coming from the roof before it collapsed. “Some construction workers were working above the roof and it sounded like they were cutting a pipe or iron bar, which later dropped onto the roof,” they said.
According to the workers, the impact was so powerful that the roof immediately collapsed, followed by one of the walls of the shop.
“There was so much dust that we all sprung to safety. However, the windows were also shattered and the frames were mangled, blocking us from hastily jumping out,” they said.
The workers described the scene inside the shop as chaotic, saying the premises were suddenly plunged into a thick mist of dust from the collapsing walls and roof. As they hurriedly evacuated the building, they realised that one of their colleagues was missing.
“We tried to shout for her, but she did not respond,” they said.
The workers were subsequently evacuated from the premises and taken to the RFM Hospital for medical check-ups. However, they alleged that they were not attended to by nurses because they did not have money.
The workers said the incident left them shaken, as they narrowly escaped.
However, they mourned that by 7:30pm they were still in the dark about their colleague who was trapped inside.
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